Champion of Gaea
by juliamarie13
Summary: The campers are influenced to betray Percy without him knowing it, Filled with hurt and pain he runs from camp only to be intercepted by a extremely weak but still alive Gaea. She offers him the choice to take revenge on both the campers and Olympians but being the man he is Percy is extremely hesitant. She offers him a free trial of sorts with a ulterior motive at hand.
1. Chapter 1

Percy's POV

After the war with Gaea and her minions everything sorta calmed down. At least for a little while. The satyrs were working overtime to bring new demigods to camp. One in particular stood out among the rest.

His name was Josh. He claimed he was the son of ''Zeus the magnificent.'' His entrance was anything but. His stumbling satyr carried him on his shoulders. The satyr said that no monsters had followed them and that it was a completely safe trip, which was rare. The satyr said that Josh was only carsick. Josh on the other hand didn't seem to think so.

"There was this huge monster with four eyes and two heads, the head of a lion and the head of a bull. Its body though, was a scaly, green reptilian. Both heads had row after row of vicious teeth. He hit the satyr with just his hoof and he went flying, knocked out. The monster had two sets of horn down its back. He was just about twenty feet, HUGE, but I knew if I didn't do something we were going to get killed. So I called upon a massive lightning bolt from my dad which instantly vaporized it. I was tired after that, but I am also extremely strong and resilient, so I somehow managed to make my way over to the satyr who was mumbling something about 'car sickness' probably incoherent poor guy. I didn't hold out much longer, I rummaged in his backpack and gave him a drink labeled nectar which I remember -quite well actually- that it would help him. He was just waking up when I passed out.''

Everyone in the camp either narrowed his eyes at Josh or snorted. No one could believe he killed a monster, especially as one as gruesome as he explained. But apparently it didn't bother him.

Immediately after Josh got out of the infirmary his satyr met him at the door of his cabin. About a quarter of the camp followed. "'What were you talking about in the infirmary?'' Demanded the satyr. ''I never got knocked out!'' However instead of answering Josh just narrowed his eyes at him and concentrated very hard. "No." He firmly spoke. "Don't you remember you did get knocked out because that monster, the one I defeated hit you." The satyr's eyes glazed over, but after a second it ended and he went back to normal. "Yeah, I guess I did get knocked out." says the satyr. Josh turned to the rest of the campers, "See? Now if you'll excuse me "I'm pretty drained."

All the campers turned around but you could tell they were talking about what he did to the satyr. I passed by the Athena cabin thinking where was Annabeth in all of this when she comes walking out of her cabin. She sees me and runs over. "Hey." she says, "What happened?" I looked at her. She was amazing to look at.

"Oh a new demigod came in, said his name was Josh. Blond hair, brown eyes, kind of short like and..pudgy" "How old was he?" she asked. "I forgot to ask him, 17 maybe 18. Anyway he told this story to everyone about how he defeated a 20 foot monster by summoning a massive lightning bolt' from his dad." "His dad?" Annabeth repeats. "That means his dad is Zeus... wow another child of the big three." she said.

"Wait, how did he know his dad was Zeus if he hasn't been claimed yet?" I ask. "Well." says Annabeth, contemplating, "We might as well go see." "Yeah why not." I decide. So together we walked towards his cabin and knocked. After a couple of seconds he answered. He looked at me confused and then his eyes widen at Annabeth. Completely ignoring me he grabbed her arm and led her inside, his other arm holding her backside.

I followed in after them resisting the urge to strangle this dude.

He seemed completely preoccupied with just staring at Annabeth. I was preoccupied with the thought of how much pack I was going to put into my punch. Mentally aiming my fists at his lower stomach when Annabeth cleared her throat. "Soo.. Josh. We-" for some reason his face fell at the word "we". "We know you're pretty tired but we wanted to ask you a couple of questions."

"Well." he answered. "You're right I am pretty tired, that extreme power was tiring for me. I mean just picture it, it was HUGE! AMAZING!" I rolled my eyes. "Like I said I'm tired. so how about you meet me at dinner tonight? I can tell you all about it!"  
>Like Annabeth would ever say yes to- "Okay." WHAT? I look at her in disbelief but she ignores me.<p>

"Well we better get going, I guess I'll see you at dinner." "UNLESS." He speaks up, "You want to stay with me until dinner? I can tell you all the MAJOR stuff." Ok yup, definitely going to punch him.

Fortunately for him, Annabeth declined. "That's okay, I have a lot of stuff to do anyway. Bye!" I practically ran for the door, Annabeth trailing behind. "SO." I said when we were outside, "Looks like you have a dinner date tonight. SO what am I going to be doing?" She looks at me in shock. "Well of course you're going with me. There's no way I'm going to dinner without you, something about that Josh kid puts me on edge." I think on that. "So why are we going to dinner with him again?" I ask. "Isn't it obvious?" she says. "To find out his story and the answers to our questions."

**Linebreak**

Chiron agreed that we could break the table rule for the new camper just this once. After making our plates we headed to the Zeus table. His face immediately darkened when I sat down with Annabeth. "I didn't know Percy was going to join us." he sneers.

Annabeth touches his reached out arm which sets my stomach on fire. "I thought you were inviting both of us." she says in a extremely soft voice while batting her eyelashes. His face turned bright red. "O...kk." he stuttered. "T-thats fine." She gives him a sweet smile. "Thanks. So how are you liking camp?" "Well its a little overwhelming." he replies. "So many things to take in, but theres a lot of awesome, pretty, uhh pretty cool that is, people here." he says, all the while staring at her.

And yet Throughout the dinner anyone could tell he was desperately trying to get rid of me.

"Oh uh Percy, could you get me a drink?" I mentally roll my eyes. "What do you want?" I ask. He does a bad job of hiding his astonishment that I actually played along. "Fresh.. um water.. from the creek!" Another mental eye roll. "Isn't that on the other side of camp?" "Oh?" he says trying to look surprised. "Is it? Oh well. Better start walking." "Actually." I grin, "I don't need to." He looks at me confused and a little angry I didn't go along with his plan.

I grab his goblet and say, "Fresh water from the creek." and it magically appears. He's half-awed, half-annoyed. "The goblets fill up with whatever drink you want them to." I explain not bothering to hide my smug grin. He tried all sorts of stuff but I managed to beat them all until finally dinner ended. Even in the middle of all his "antics" we were still able to ask him questions.

Well I should say Annabeth was, he wouldn't answer ANY of mine. He said he was the son of Zeus, claimed while defeating the monster. His satyr told him all about the Greeks on the way to camp and he believed it considering all the "weird things" that had happened to him in his life.

Right after dinner Josh goes right up to Annabeth and says, "So you want to head up to my cabin and we can discuss the different activities for me to do tomorrow?" Right when I was deciding on a left hook to the chin then a sharp jab at the stomach, Annabeth saved him once again from my attacks.

"I'm really tired." she replies. "I already have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow, maybe some other time. Bye!" We swiftly turn away together. "Well wise girl you saved Josh from my vicious attack plan that I was ready to execute." We both look behind where Josh is talking to Katie, head of the Demeter Cabin I thought I saw her eyes glaze over but then she turned and looked at me with a hate stare.

"Annabeth, does Katie look like she wants to kill me or am I imagining things?" I ask. "I don't know, I didn't see." We stop at her cabin. "You know that was one of the worst dinners I ever had." I complain. She gives me a small smile. "It would have been the worst if you weren't there." We kiss just outside the doorway. "It's almost your birthday you know." She almost whispers. "I haven't forgotten yet." I reply, "But for my birthday you'll be the one getting the surprise." She looks up at me in-well surprise. "What is it?" she couldn't help but ask. "Well it wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you now would it?" She laughs. "Ok fine. See you tomorrow." "Love ya." "Love you too." I smile to myself as I walk to my cabin, a small blush creeping in.

I open my cabin door to a surprise of my own. A horrible surprise. "What are you doing here?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady. "Well you asked quite a few questions tonight, I have a question of my own." No one other than Josh standing in the middle of my cabin. The words creepy and stalker flash in my mind. "Ok." I say, deciding to humor him for now. "Go ahead." "Are you dating Annabeth?" he immediately asks. "Yes." I fire back, "We've been dating for years now."

He looks at me his expression- smug... for some reason. "Just know that she doesn't like you. Maybe you didn't see but she was obviously flirting with me and didn't throw you a glance all night." "She would never date you." "You'll see!" he replies. "But when I'm the one holding her hand, giving her good night kisses-" My punch to his gut effectively shut him up. "Don't be jealous." he manages to say before I grab him by the collar of his shirt and throw him out my door. "And when you still won't be able to get close to her, don't be jealous." I say as I slam the door in his face.

**Line break~The Next Morning**

I walk over to the Athena cabin to meet Annabeth when I see Connor and Travis Stoll glaring at me. I wave but drop my hand as they ignore me and just walk over to where Josh is standing along with campers from the Apollo, Demeter, and Hermes cabin. I notice some of them just ignore me with angry faces, others glare at me. I wonder what's wrong with all of them. Finally I see Annabeth, I immediately brighten. "Hey." I say. "Do you know why everyone from that group is glaring at me?" "No but Josh is at the front." she replies. "Talking about Josh..." She looks at me curiously. "What?" she asks. "I got a visit from him last night." Her eyes widen as I tell her what he said and ending with what I did to him."You shouldn't have done that. Now he'll want to get even with you." I smirk. "As long as I've got you, he can't do anything. She smiles. "Come on seaweed brain we're going to be late for breakfast. "One more kiss." I say and I pull her under.

**3rd Person POV**

The Stoll brothers were walking towards the Hermes cabin after dinner when the new kid, Josh, stopped them. "I've been meaning to ask someone." Josh starts. "What do you think of Percy Jackson?" Both brothers smile at the same time. "The dudes awesome!" they said in unision. "He's saved the world like two times already!" (said Conner) "The titan war!" (said Travis) "Which we helped a lot with." (Conner) "Oh yeah we played a huge role." (Travis) "And then he saved us again!" (Conner) "Super recently with the Giant war!" (Travis) "He's awesome!" (Connor and Travis) "I don't think so." said Josh. They both frowned. "What do you mean?" Josh took a deep breath and concentrated his eyes on them.

**Josh POV**

I left the Stoll brother muttering about how much they "hate" Percy Jackson. I almost laughed out loud. It was too easy. Such weak-willed demigods. Percy would be so surprised in the morning when he finds out that the Apollo, Hermes, and soon-to-be Demeter cabins all despise his guts. But not just them, later it will the Hephaestus cabin, Aphrodite, and finally Athena. Every cabin will HATE Percy Jackson, and I will be able to have Annabeth for myself.

**Linebreak**

There. Demeter and Hephaestus all done. Incompetent fools. I guess I better go to sleep. I'll conquer the Aphrodite cabin tomorrow.

**Percy's POV**

My surprise is almost ready. Tomorrow's my birthday and I'll be the one giving her a present. I can only hope she'll accept. I asked Hephaestus and Aphrodite personally to help me out and they both agreed. Well actually Aphrodite started squealing saying "Oh so cute! Of course!" Hephaestus just grunted his assent. Hermes had delivered it today.

Making sure no one was around, I took the small velvet box out of the package. Opening it, I said a silent thank-you to the two gods. I'm definitely not one for jewelry but this was amazing.

A 10 carat ring. The jewel was a mixture of aquamarine and jade. The green jade matched my eyes exactly and the blue was the sea on a perfect day. The ring itself, a glittering gold had the words "Forever my Wise Girl." inscribed on the inside. I loved it, it was amazing. I hoped with my entire heart she would like i- no love it and be with me forever.

But first I went over to the Aphrodite cabin and sought out Drew. I finally found her fixing her makeup. Mentally rolling my eyes I walked up to her. "Hey Drew." She jumped up in shock and immediately started flirting with me. "Hey Perce what's up?" she said batting her eyelashes. "Drew, come on stop it." She started pouting, "Don't make me use my charmspeak." "Aww come on, you know you wouldn't do that." I said. "I have a question." She finally dropped the act. "Ok fine." Drew was a pretty good friend and surprisingly nice when she wasn't bossing you around or flirting with you. "In your opinion, what is the best way to propose to someone? The most romantic?" She jumped up and down screaming. Mother like daughter. Seriously you'd think I was proposing to her! "AAHHHHH! YOU'RE PROPOSING TO ANNIE!" "BE QUIET!" I yell. "I don't want anyone finding out." She immediately hushes down. "Ok I HAVE A PERFECT IDEA!" I give her another look. "Oh sorry. Ok do it by the beach. Get her alone. Don't worry, I'll make sure my cabin takes care of EVVERYYTHIINGG!" I give her yet another look. "Just don't go overboard." I say. "Don't worry" she says reassuringly. "I won't. I promise, I'm just thinking rose petals and do it right before sunset!" She actually sighs. "Percy." she said, showing a sign of genuine truth. "For a time, I really did like you. It wasn't just an Aphrodite fool love." I looked at her surprised. I always thought she was just flirting to flirt. She continued. "But I saw the way you looked at Annabeth even when she wasn't looking, and I knew I couldn't compete with her." She laughs but it has a slight bitterness to it.

"Didn't stop me from trying. Anyway I just want to say I really hope that I meet someone as amazing as you and that Annabeth is an extremely lucky girl." I stood there deciding what to do. I leaned in and gave her an even kiss on the cheek. "You're an amazing girl Drew. You're very nice when you want to be and you're naturally pretty, you don't need makeup." I just kept on talking, I couldn't stop myself. "I am in love with Annabeth but you're an extraordinary friend. So thank you." She blushed then teared up. "Thanks Perce. I know many campers don't like me from how I act on the outside but you're a true friend." She wiped her eyes. "Now show me the ring!" She gasped when she saw it. "It's beautiful." Drew whispered. "Don't worry, I'll plan everything and maybe I can get some of the other cabins to help." "Oh." I say. "Maybe that's not the best idea. For some reason they're glaring at me like I did something to them." She looks at me. "Well yeah, actually I've noticed that. I'm like 98% sure it has something to do with the new kid Josh, they follow him around like he's a king."

"Well." I say, "At least I know that one cabin doesn't hate me." looking at her smiling. "Of course not!" I stand up. "Well, I better leave, thanks for everything Drew." She smiles, a genuine one this time. "No prob. Oh and be at the beach early so you can see what we're doing and make sure it's ok with you." "Got it. Oh and Drew?" I ask, "Please don't tell Annabeth about that." She smiles. "I wouldn't dare." When I walk outside I thought I saw someone run away from the door but I'm probably just nervous. She has to say yes.

**Josh POV Next Morning**

Today's the day. I got ever cabin to turn against the "great Percy Jackson." Well, almost every cabin. The Aphrodite group has managed to stay clear of me but that hardly matters. Those gaggling group of girls don't mean anything to Percy. I also have the nymphs and satyrs on my side. The only person left is Annabeth. I decide to do it on the beach. No doubt Percy will find us.

**Percy POV**

I was walking out of my cabin, heading towards the beach half-an-hour early to check on everything when a group of campers meet me outside my door. I look at them uneasily. Every single one is staring at me with pure hatred. "Hey guys." I said trying to act casual. "Oh look." said a familiar voice. "It's the great Percy Jackson!" the voice said mockingly. My heart dies when I locate the speaker- Grover- looking as hateful as the rest of them.

"Grover, buddy, what's wrong?" He just scoffs. Next Travis Stoll starts talking. "What's wrong is that you carry yourself around Camp Half-Blood like you're some big hero, when you can't even save your so-called friends." His words hit me hard. Grover speaks out again. "All you cared about was yourself! You let innocent demigods and nature spirits die for you." I gasp sharply, a huge pain erupting in my stomach. "W-what?" It's all I can manage before everyone starts calling out names. "Beckondolf!" says a Hephaestus camper. "We all know what really happened! You saved yourself and left Beckondolf to DIE at the hands of Kronos!" I stumble backwards. "SILENA!" Another one calls out. "You hid behind her as she fought the drakon while you did nothing!" I fall to my knees. "What? Can't take it? The guilt of what you did? Too much? Overwhelming? You're nothing but a coward! A selfish greedy coward!" I can't take it. Why?

**Grover's POV**

"STOP!" I yell at myself but nothing happens. I can't stop, something's taking control of my of my body. It all started with Josh walking up to me and he did- he did something! I suddenly hated Percy. Percy! My best friend! Then so did everyone else. We caught him at his doorway and started yelling at him. We were saying horrible things at him. I couldn't control anything! He fell to his knees and my heart broke. I tried to comfort him, to run up to him, to defend him. To do anything! But I couldn't. "Michael Yew!" Someone calls out. "STOP!" I try to scream... Nothing then before I know it I'm calling him a coward. I'm fighting inside but nothing responds or reacts.

**Percy's POV**

I'm trying not to cry but each name hits me like an arrow. "My own brother!" Dionysius's cabins few members glare at me, and it's too much. I push through the crowd, I can't take it. SO they all hate me and the guilt is crushing me like a stone. I have Annabeth. She's all I have left.

I somehow make it, stumbling to the beach. I see Josh lying down with a girl. My penned up anger floods through me, so intense I didn't know it was all there. I start to storm up to them. I get into hearing distance and 3 words stop me short. "I hate Percy."

I recognize the voice. I'd recognized it anywhere. It belonged to the one person I thought would always love me. My mouth falls open in shock and pain replaces the anger for a moment. I get the feeling Josh sees me because he smirks but doesn't look up.

Annabeth doesn't realize I'm there because she just continues. Josh practically whispers, "Tell me you love me in the most romantic way possible!" My insides, whatever was left of my heart shatters and she starts talking. "Oh Josh! I don't just love you with my heart but with my soul, my mind, my entire strength! I love you with my entire being! More than I've ever loved anyone else, enormously more than that coward Percy." It takes all of me not to just collapse on the ground and give up everything I have ever fought or worked for. "Kiss me Annabeth! Make it as passionate as our love for one another!" She starts randomly jerking back and forth, leaning into him then back out. He looks at her confused. "KISS ME!" He repeats.

This time there's no hesitation. She kisses him, more passionately then she had or ever will loved me. If she ever did. She holds him in as long as they both can. "You are my eternity." She whispers. That's when something inside me snaps. I yell an inhuman scream it's almost a roar. Annabeth finally turns out. I barely register the fact that her eyes are glazed over. Give up? I laugh out loud. An evil maniac laugh in a voice I barely recognize as my own. I take the few steps into the water. Power surges through me. My vision tinged red, I can barely control my power.

Then I decide I don't care. I will destroy. I raise my hands and waves burst out 30 feet high around me, soaking everything and everyone around. I create a water platform underneath me and rise to the height of the waves. Geysers erupt around me. I shoot endless walls of water at them. Then the group of campers including that horrible goat run on the beach. They can wait until after I take care of Josh and HER. But they'll suffer just as much. I raise my hands, a giant formed from water rises from the beach. I am the controller. I solidify his hand into ice and pick up the "precious couple."

"FEEL THE WRATH OF POSEIDON!" I roar. Another wave of anger overtakes me as I think of him and all the other miserable gods. "AS IF MY LIFE WASN'T RUINED ENOUGH!" I throw them 20 feet behind me. The water starts to boil, reflecting my anger. When they had screamed enough I threw them, hard, on the sand. The rest of the demigods stood frozen in shock, another maniac laugh at the expressions. He picked all of them up and threw him down the down his throat. He shot them through his arm onto the sand. I froze them, then boiled them, freeze, boiled. I was about to leave, the noise in the back round dominated by screams of pain. I stopped and yelled in frustration. No matter how they betray me, my fatal flaw is and always will be loyalty. I surround them in water and heal all the injuries. All except Josh. I noticed none of their eyes were glazed anymore but I didn't care. They all stared at me in shock and surprise and...fear. The worst was Annabeth. I hated her. She opened her mouth as if to say something but I definitely wasn't going to wait for an explanation. I used my water platform to jet me forward and I left them like that. I will _never_ come back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Annabeth's POV**

I can't believe this happened. When Percy found us after I said those words to Josh, I could see the pain on his face. But I couldn't stop, and no one could stop Percy. I look around. Complete Perdition.

Grover trots up to me sadly. "Do you remember what happened?" he asks. I nod, tears forming. "I couldn't stop myself. But I didn't want to. It was as if the decision had already been made and my mind was just carrying out the actions." I say. "I know." Grover replies. "Believe me, I know." I finally notice Josh moaning on the ground. I almost scream. That scum demigod that did this to me. Fiery anger courses through me. I rise up, walk up to him, and kick him hard in the side. He groans again. I draw my foot back again and a yell escapes me as I release. A tap on my shoulder turns me away.

Surprisingly its Drew. "How could you do this to him?" she chokes out, tears in her eyes. I never realized how close she was to Percy. "I didn't want to." I say. "I couldn't control myself." She looks angry. "You could have TRIED to fight back. Not that it matters but here is the gift he was going to give YOU for HIS birthday." She hands me a velvet box. I open it and gasp in pain, tears overflowing.

**MEANWHILE IN MOUNT OLYMPUS**

**ZEUS: How dare that demigod scum call himself my scum! **

***All gods look at him in shock* **

**Apollo: He's not your son? **

**Zeus: Of course not, not a WEAKLING like that! **

***Hermes flies in***

** Hermes: EVERYBODY! I have some bad news and some worse news. **

***The gods all sigh***

**Zeus: Well? GO ON! **

**Hermes: The demigod in Camp Half~Blood calling himself your son, just called some MAJOR complications**

***The gods all look at each other* **

**Hermes: I have no idea who his father/mother is but this kid somehow influenced every camper in Camp Half~Blood to...**

***at this Hermes falters***

**Zeus: CONTINUE!  
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**Hermes: To hate and *wince* betray Percy.**

***Multiple gasps and alarming looks escape from every god.***

**Hermes: Apparently, they couldn't control themselves and met Percy outside his cabin. Called him a coward and such, said he'd fail to save his friends. It really hit him hard. Moving on...  
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***Hermes glances nervously at Poseidon who looked like he was going to explode.*  
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**Hermes: He went down to the beach, he was planning on..umm..  
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**Poseidon: WHAT?!  
><strong>

**Hermes: Aphrodite, take it away!**

**Aphrodite: Oh my, okay. Well he was planning on proposing to Annabeth but found her on the beach with Josh..**

**Just when Poseidon looked ready to burst sea water, Athena spoke up.**

**Athena: NO daughter of mine would be so weak-willed! It can not true!**

**Aphrodite looked offended.**

**Aphrodite: I should know, I'm the goddess of love.**

**Hermes: Anyway, our main questions now is where is Percy and who is the parent of the demigod?**

**Athena speaks up again.**

**Athena: I have an idea of who it could be. Summon the campers of Camp Half~Blood, and call upon the minor god, Janus.**

**3RD PERSON POV**

It was obvious, the campers were scared when they got summoned to Mount Olympus. All gods were glaring at them, it was also clear that the campers were distraught. Most were crying or on the verge of tears. Annabeth was clutching a small velvet box, tears streaming down her face. All the gods noticed the Aphrodite cabin was the least tearful, which was surprising.

The one called Josh had a black eye beginning to form and looked worse than all the others. Janus had just flashed in when the gods started to talk. "JANUS!" Boomed Zeus. "Yes." said the right head. "Yeah?" answered the left. "Is this your son?" The left head glared at Josh, the other smiled. "Yup! That's my boy!" (Right) "Sadly, he is mine." The left replied.

"Explain to us how your son manipulated so many." "Oh it's a long story do you really want to-" One withering look from Hera cuts him off. She snaps and duct tape forms over the left's mouth. "Now explain." she said. "Okay." said the right head, now pale. "He is our first son, so he's bound to have more of my powers. When I started out as a minor god, we manipulated mortals and demigods to make the choices we preferred, soooooooooo yes, I have that power. But now I give them choices." "And you didn't tell your son to stop? EVEN IF YOU KNEW WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO?" Yelled Poseidon.

He-or they were still pale, but just shrugged."We gave him a choice, we did not interfere." Grumbling, Zeus stood up. "Fine! You are excused." "Wait!" said Athena. "What do we do with the boy?" They all glared at Josh who shrunk back. "It all depends on what happens with Percy Jackson."

"HERMES!" Yelled Poseidon. "WHERE IS MY SON NOW?!" None of the gods had noticed that Hermes had snuck away. "HHEEERMMMES!" Bellowed Poseidon. Hermes flashed back into the room, and for the first time, he looked truly scared.

"Where is my son?!" "He's with...Gaea."

**Percy's POV**

I wasn't sure where I was, I wasn't even sure if I was still in New York. Stumbling around in some wooded area. I could barely see where I was going. The tears streamed down my face now that no one was there I couldn't control it. I felt something wet on my shoulder. Rain. _OF COURSE._ I think to myself. _It's raining, what a cliché. _I didn't care, I just kept on walking, freezing cold, but not wet. It's getting extremely muddy around me, I stumble and trip in a puddle of mud. _Nice going Percy._ But instead of moving, I just lay there, seeing no point of getting up. All my friends hate me. _Wha__t about New Rome? _But they'll ask questions. I sigh into the mud. "_Just give up." _I bolt up straight to my feet, that definitely wasn't me. It was a soft females voice, weakened, but I definitely recognized it.

I snarled, "Gaea! We defeated you! You shouldn't have the power to ever wake up again!" I try to move but I'm stuck in the mud. It rises up to my ankles. "_I know that boy, but you can never fully destroy the earth. I make up everything._" It rose up to my knees. "_But do tell me please." _she continues. _"Why fight? Your friends hate you, your girlfriend doesn't love you. Why do you think that happened, that fool of a love goddess Aphrodite controlled it all. No one stopped her either. The gods are cruel and unfair and to them you are nothing more than their pawn." _

I stop struggling, "FIGHT!" something yells inside of me, but...I don't want to. All I've ever done is fight, fight for their gods, for their children. I'm sick of how they treated me. I'm done. I stopped doing anything altogether. I think of the group of campers outside my cabin. Anger courses through me. I want the mud to rise faster. I want it to engulf me, to block out the anger and pain. I don't want to fight for them ever again. It reaches my neck and for the first time in my life, I give up.

**BACK TO OLYMPUS**

Poseidon started breathing in and out. In, out, in, out. "What?" he chokes out. "I found him..encased in mud, almost like a statue. But the expression on his face was peaceful, almost tranquil, as if he wanted to be swallowed by the mud." Hermes explained. By now Poseidon's face had such a hateful expression of pure rage, everyone standing stood back and the gods shifted uneasily in their chairs. He shakily pointed at the demigods. In a low quiet, voice, anything but calm, he spoke. "What did you do?!" They cleared their throats and explained.

"After that we ran to the beach where we heard something that sounded like a roar. We thought it was a monster. When we got to the beach we saw Josh and Annabeth...who was also under." said Grover. Next Connor and Travis spoke. "He made this GIANT" (Connor) "He picked up Josh and Annabeth and threw them." (Travis) "The giant was mimicking him, following his movements. (Connor) "He must have been really angry. The water they were in started boiling." (Travis) Connor gulped. "After he threw us onto the sand." (Connor) Travis was about to speak up again when Katie stepped forward. "Then...it was our turn. He solidified the giants arm into ice, and picked us all up." "He threw us down the giants..mouth. We went down the throat, out the arm, and landed pretty hard on the beach." (Clarisse) "He froze the water around us then boiled it, going back and forth, back and forth. (Pollux) The gods all widened my eyes or gasped in shock. To have Percy Jackson act like this? "We were either going to get hypothermia." (Connor again) "Or third-degree burn." (Travis..again)

Annabeth spoke up, her voice hoarse from crying. "He saved us." The gods looked at each other. "What?" Apollo questioned. She spoke louder this time. "H-he somehow managed to heal all our wounds with his water." Her voice lowered but everyone still heard her. "Loyal to the end." She choked out the last four words. Athena of all people-well of all gods really-rose from her throne. "We need to save Percy Jackson. He has been hurt by those who he loved most." she said pointing a fixed glare towards the campers. "Hermes bring the..'statue' here." He looked at her nervously. "I already tried, it's almost melded to the ground." Artemis rises next. "Then we have to go there." Surprisingly none of the gods argued, they all nod in silent agreement. "Tell us." said Artemis. "Where is this spot Hermes?" He told them the exact location and all the gods flashed away, leaving the demigods in the throne room.

All at once they turned on Josh. Clarisse was first. She pounded her fists together. "You're going to pay for what you did to Percy!" The others all shouted in agreement. The Demeter cabin held him in place with sharp thorns tangling around his feet. The Aphrodite cabin made him do humiliating things via charm speak, applying horrible make up combinations. The Hephaestus and Ares cabin dwelt swift blows. Whenever he tried to use his powers a punch was given. After finally deciding to stop (just for now) they contemplated their next move.

"We need to find..Percy." Annabeth says in a low voice. Some of the campers resented her just a little. She was Annabeth, daughter of Athena extraordinaire. How come she couldn't -didn't- stop this? Then again, none of them could stop it either.  
>Having no other means of transportation, they filed into the vans and headed to the wooded area of New Jersey.<p>

**Percy's POV**

I let the mud swallow me, probably not the best idea on m part, but what else could I do? I had nothing to live for. My "friends" hate me. My girlfriend cheated on me with demigod scum, and it's also the gods fault. They played with me, treated me as a pawn, messed up my life, and disposed of me when I was no longer needed. This had to be the work of Aphrodite. That useless love goddess!

I had given up but my anger hasn't. I close my eyes the words "nothing to live for." bouncing around in my head.

_**TIME-LAPSE-3-HOURS-LATER**_

I'm not sure how much time has passed, but when I open my eyes I'm in a dry, earthen, cavern. A voice echoes off the walls. _"Hello Perseus."_ "Dirt Face." I growl, looking around to see where the voice is coming from. "Why did you capture me?" She doesn't hesitate to answer.

_"Maybe you didn't notice but you let me have you. I saw your pain. The gods tossed their pawn aside. Your friends weren't true, didn't stick by you. Your girlfriend abandoned you without a moments notice."_ Her words leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Why don't you show yourself Gaea?" I ask, surprisingly there's little resentment in my voice, right now I hated the gods just as much. _"You defeated me Percy, I don't have enough strength to make myself into one physical form. It took all of my strength to bring you down here...I'm no where near awake. Never will be for a long time. You made sure of that...but I can never fully return to eternal slumber. No matter how hard you try."_ Just like monsters, born to reform.

"Okay, _Why _did you bring me down here?" I ask. I'm already sure what she's going to say but I'm afraid of what to say, of what I want. She finally answers.

_"Perseus, you are a great man. The bane of monsters. You have retrieved the Master Bolt of Zeus, navigated the Sea of Monsters, grabbed the golden fleece while beating a cyclops at the same time. You have held the sky, a feat even a Titan struggled with. You managed to help destroy the Labyrinth and find the lost god Pam. You defeated a countless amount of monsters and my son Kronos along with a number of other Titans along the way. Even with your memory manipulated, you helped the Romans with a quest no one else could accomplish. You defeated my children the giants and put me in a powerless slumber. You came to Tartarus and back, and those are only the major things! YOU DEFEATED THE WAR GOD AT THE AGE OF 12! At only 12. You are an amazing demigod, extremely powerful and the gods are afraid of power. So they break you by hitting what you love most, hard. To them you were a pawn, nothing more, nothing less."_

And I believe it. Why else would this happen to me? My friends never cared for me! My so-called "lover" never loved! I yell in anger and break down, falling to my knees. But I can't cry here. I fight my tears back. I am all of those things. I am powerful and because of that they used my fatal flaw against me. I have no loyalty to them, they don't deserve my loyalty! I stand up. There's no more hurt, no more betrayal, no more Percy Jackson. There is only anger.

**3rd Person POV**

Both gods and demigods stand around the statue, assessing the situation, trying to think of ways to get Percy out.

"We should hack it to BITS!" (Ares) "That might hurt Percy!" (Artemis) "It's obvious what we should do, think it over, over some CEREAL!" (Demeter) "EVERYTHING'S NOT ABOUT CEREAL!" (Everyone) "We should burn the mud! And when it hardens, chip it off." (Hephaestus) "Well." Athena said. "It's not the worst idea we've had, actually..it might work." Everyone looks at Hephaestus in surprise. "Perfect." he grunts. He sets his hand ablaze and flamethrowers Percy. The mud instantly hardens and starts to crack.

Hephaestus summons a mallet. Despite the many, many, _many, _protests from gods and demigods alike, he raised his mallet high in the air and struck a mighty blow to Percy's shoulder. Annabeth cries out as if he had struck her instead. But everyone stands back amazed, where he had hit all signs of mud were gone revealing a human shoulder. Hephaestus turns around, smiling smugly. Poseidon steps forward. "WELL?!" he asks. "RELEASE PERCY JACKSON!"

**Sorry I took so long to update I have a couple of reasons. =)**

**1) I started writing this in a notebook and I have literally no time to convert it to the computer, I stayed up till like 5 and I'm still 1,300 pages short of my other chapter so yeah.**

**okay I only have one reason...HOPE you guys liked it! Sorry its shorter, I'll be trying to update at soon as possible. I had to do it on an old computer that kept on crashing, long story short, I didn't save often and half of my story was destroyed. But I thought I might as well just post this. So yeah! OH one more thing! My birthday is coming up...10 days! My updating might be a little slow..:( **

**so yeah there's that!**

**Enjoy!**


	3. Please Read!

**Hi People.**

**So I know that I haven't updated in two months, which I am sorry for, but I also wanted to say that I was looking over Chapter 1 and I saw all the errors I made and I see how that must have been hard to read. I have no clue how I missed it before. I fixed all that I saw and I was scouring the whole chapter so I hope it's fine now. **

**I was converting my notebook writings onto an ipad, because that was my only means at the time, and it wasn't the ****_easiest _****thing to type with so I'm sorry about that, please have some patience! Like I said (two months ago) it was my birthday, and I now have a much easier way so this means I'll be update more and hopefully will have less mistakes. **

**I shall most definitely be updating tomorrow, but right now, it is very late and I can barely keep my eyes open. **

**If there's any errors in my writing, I would love if you pointed them out so I can fix them to the best of my ability. Ideas as to where the story could go, or different events are always appreciated.**

**Thanks for the support, Happy late Thanksgiving to any who celebrated it.**


	4. Chapter 3

_"I offer you a choice Perseus Jackson. Return to above ground, weaker and vulnerable, or embrace my powers and use them to your advantage."_ I can't...but there's an urge to. An urge pushing me forward, I _want _revenge, I _want _to show them all the pain they inflicted on me. Darker thoughts consumed my mind as I thought of just how much pain I could return.

I try to push it from my mind. "N-no, you're still evil!" _"Tell me Perseus, am I any better than the gods themselves? They forsake their savior and the campers, can I be that much worse than them. They betrayed you, they wanted to hurt you, and they did. Beyond belief."_ I want to argue but I can't. The gods aren't any better and the campers...

_"I understand you are still hesitant as you have every right to be. So I will offer you something that will sweeten the deal. I shall bestow upon you my powers, for a limited amount of time. You will have the choice to choose. You will become my champion. With my powers you shall become extremely powerful, powers over everything around you! Do you agree?"_

I shake my head yes and then no. It didn't matter anyway as a dome of mud surrounded me. I panicked as a memory surfaced of the Alaskan mud, when I first experienced drowning. In a second though, the mud around me melts in a puddle beneath my feet. "Look into the mirror Perseus, take a look at your eyes." I spin around a little woozy and catch sight of an old rusted mirror, leaning against the earthen walls. I peer closer, looking at my eyes like she instructed.

They are the same striking green but now a rich, warm, brown is mixed in like mud. Flecks into the green swirling around. I actually kind of like it. Gaea speaks up,_ "This is your sign, you have powers over all the earth yet not losing your own for let us say...a month. Come back to this spot any day in between and you will become my champion." "And if I don't?" I ask. "You lose my powers, and I lose a champion. But I am patient, the earth overcomes all."_

I'm still looking at my eyes when my shoulder disappears. "HOLY HADES!" I yelp, "WHERE'S MY SHOULDER?!" I wave my hand over the spot it once was..nothing. _"They are trying to break you from my protective mud, no doubt to torment you more. There is nothing I can do."_ I gulp loudly as my entire right side vanishes. _"Find the extent of my powers Perseus."_ I take a last look as the rest of my body disappears.

The first thing I register is blinding sunlight. Once my eyes adjust I almost gasp, it's "them." Gaea said I would need to face them. Gaea. I'm listening to the goddess who had almost destroyed me, the irony is almost too much to take. I clear my head and focus on the present situation. They're all just staring at me but I'm definitely not going to start a conversation. Annabeth, _that_ girl, tries to run up to me, no doubt to rub salt in the wound, trying to act like she didn't mean it I'm guessing. Nothing will make me forgive her. I can't let her come near me.

I thrust my hand out. "STOP!" I yell, I didn't mean to but a giant wall of mud 10 feet high bursts from the ground separating us. I look at me and I feel power surging through it. _"Extremely Powerful." _ I whisper to myself. I know I need to make sure they get the message to stay away. "DON'T _EVER _COME NEAR ME AGAIN!" I yell as they stare at me in shock. I make the earth erupt around me in geysers. Okay, so I'm showing off, but despite the aching pain growing stronger in my chest, it's great. Everything around me is something I can control. I decide I need to get away.

With my new-found powers I shoot mud into their faces which was actually hilarious, especially the gods. While they're distracted a create a hole in the ground underneath me, my size, until I'm a 50 feet down. Then I push it forward creating a tunnel in the earth. Filling the dirt behind me I shoot forward. I need to make it to Camp Half~Blood to retrieve supplies. I know I told myself I wouldn't come back but this is the last time. Somehow or other I tunnel my way up to the camp. I meant to pop up right outside my cabin but I end up bursting through Cabin 3's floor. "Oh well." I think to myself. I gather some clothes, avoiding the orange t-shirts. After gathering my stuff I take one last look around. A nice place, even if it ended bitterly.

I walk out of my cabin and enter the eating area. I grab a couple of magical goblets, they might help along the way. After gathering supplies from the Camp Store I make my way to the borders. Without taking a look back I enter the Mortal World. I sprint along the edge of the forest, forcing my emotions into running. Once I know I'm far enough, I plunge into the woods.

**Annabeth's POV**

We finally freed Percy just to have him spray mud in our face and run off. Mud! Is he Gaea's now?! Have we lost Percy Jackson? Have I lost my Percy? The thought brings back another sob that I struggle to control. He seemed fully in control of what he was doing. Could it be that, he actually willingly accepted Gaea? The worst was his eyes. When he looked at me...it wasn't the eyes of the Percy I knew. A whirlpool of mud swirled into them. What did she do to him?!

Then again..what did I do to him? Once he disappears underground, everyone, gods and demigods just stand there. The most powerful demigod ever..gone. Manipulated. Gone. Gone. He's gone. Percy can't be gone! I finally react. "HERMES! Find where Percy's going! NOW!" They all spring into action. Wiping mud from their faces, brushing off clothes, whispering among themselves. Hermes appears looking down on me. "Well? Have you found him?!" I ask impatient and anxious. His brow furrows, "The muds scrambling my signal." 15 minutes later he finds out. "CAMP HALF~BLOOD! HE'S AT CAMP HALF BLOOD!" All the gods immediately flash off. "COME ON!" Clarisse yells, "Get in the van!" "NO!" I yell in surprise. "What?" They all ask incredulous. "That's going to take close to an hour, he'll be gone by then. We need to get to Camp Half~Blood NOW!" All of a sudden a teenager appears in the middle of the campers, surrounded by shadows. The shadows clear and reveal a boy with slick black hair and a Stygian iron sword 3 feet long hanging on the side of his pants. Of course I recognize him and he looks up at me and speaks. "Nico di Angelo, at your service."

"Okay, all of you get in a circle." I look at him grateful, but also worried. "Are you sure you can handle this Nico? You've never shadow traveled with such a large group before." "I'm not the same kid Annabeth. Now everyone, think of Camp Half~Blood, right outside Percy's Cabin. Shadows surround us, a cold rush of wind sweeps over me. Terrifying. It lasted for a couple of seconds. Enough time for me to be on the edge of regurgitation. But when the shadows cleared, there we were standing right outside his cabin. The gods Ares, Hephaestus, Demeter, Hera, and some others were standing outside the doorway. All campers looked to them hopefully. Demeter just shook her head sadly, offering campers bowls of corn flakes.

I pushed away the campers and stepped over a sleeping Nico, collapsed on the ground. I finally reached the cabin door and step inside. The cabin is completely ransacked, orange T-shirts strewn on the ground, the drawers flung open. A hole ruptured from the ground. I march up to Hermes. "Can you find him? Can you trace the signal? T-Trace the signal!" I burst into tears. Where is he? I miss him so much! Someone comforts me, I look up and find...Aphrodite. I thought she would be enjoying this. "Of course I don't enjoy it honey." I stare at her shocked. "Did you just read my mind?" I manage through slowing tears. "I read your emotions darling, resentment towards me for making your love life so miserable." "Gee thanks." Temporary annoyance and slight anger fill me. It doesn't block my more...emotional feelings that I'm experiencing but rather stems it. Gaps in a dam about to collapse. "Believe me Annabeth, twists and turns make it interesting, but this is like...a drop off a cliff." I grit my teeth and stiffen. "NOT helping Aphrodite!" She sighs and releases me from her "comfort." "I just wanted to let you know, I didn't do this."

A camper from Hermes bursts in. "There was a monster attack at a mall down north. A hydra! Huge! Must be a really smelly demigod! Wait, that came out wrong..umm." I walk towards him and he flinches and takes a step back. The expression on my face must not be friendly. "Where?" He names the site. "But we'll never get there in time!" Out of nowhere Hermes appears. "I think I can be of help with that."

**BACK TO PERCY**

Once I'm in deep enough in the forest where I'm sure no mortal can see me I use my new powers again. I use the same method of transport but this time I'm not really sure where I'm going. Not really sure where I belong now. A tunnel for some time never stopping. After a _long _while my stomach growls and I decide to stop to eat. Popping out from the earth from a geyser with mud, fresh air is my first sensation. The second is a painful sensation that quickly spreads. With my eyes clearing I suddenly realize that I am on FIRE. The pain is becoming unbearable, as fast as I can thrust my fists towards the ground and summon all the water I can. A huge wave douses me and I feel instant relief as the water surrounds me and heals my wounds. My shirt is halfway burned off so I rip it off with my hand. The wave of water still stands behind me. I then become aware of the 3 pairs of eyes staring at me. There is 2 girls and one boy all drenched. The one that looked to be the eldest was one of the girls. She was tall, seemed about my age, with tan skin and long, wavy brown hair reaching halfway down her back. Her eyes were also brown but extremely warm, now filled with wariness. In her hand she held a pike.

The boy was holding a bow and arrow and had short blond hair and light blue eyes and looked a little younger than me. The other girl standing on the other side of him looks to be the same age as him and was equipped with a dagger. She had strawberry blond hair, extremely pale skin, and striking violet eyes. She speaks up first but not to me. Glancing at the other girl she rolls her eyes, "Really Scarlet? A pike?" "I was surprised! Shut up and pay attention!" They all turn towards me as I stand there, shirtless, with a giant wave of water, aching to be released. I raise my hand and the water floods back into the ground, slowly at first, so not to over flood the entire forest.

"Ummm..." I don't really know what to say or do. "Sooo want to tell us why you erupted from the ground into our fire and summoned a tsunami to take it out?" The one named Scarlet asks. "Yeah...well." I start out. "I-um didn't know your fire was there and I was just stopping to eat and um...yeah." Well that was an amazing explanation. "Good you're hungry! We were just about to eat?" The other two companions look at her in shock. "What?" We all ask at the same time. She rolls her eyes, "Come. Eat. With. Us." she repeats. "What?" she says of the two still staring. "We don't know him and he just summoned a massive wave to kill us!" the boy starts out. "If he wanted to kill us, he would have done it already." She walks towards a backpack propped up against the tree. "I don't know you though." I repeat

Scarlet smirks. "Okay his name is Zack." pointing to the boy. "Her name is Zoey and I'm Scarlet." She nods as if the entire matter is cleared up. She motions towards me to sit down on a log, patting the space next to her. I almost find myself grinning and sit down to join her. She hands me a uncrustables and tosses two more to Zack and Zoey. "So...my name is-" "Percy Jackson." I gape at her in shock. "How did you know my name?" "Please, two massive wars, even _we've_ heard of you."

Zoey and Zack sit on a log to the opposite side of us, both looking at me a little wary. I slowly unwrap the sandwich, looking at the ground. "What are you doing so far from Camp Half~Blood?" Ahh...the one question I couldn't answer right now, a fresh wave of pain floods through me that I actually drop the sandwich. Snapping back to reality, I pick it up avoiding their eye contact. "That's a long story." I'm surprised by how my voice sounds like, rough but on the edge of-something. Pain, Sorrow, Anger...so many emotions threaten to overcome me that I close my eyes.

"I see." I clear my throat and wait several seconds before I speak so my voice doesn't betray me, "What are you doing from the-the camp. You're obviously demigods." I hoped my voice didn't sound as rough as I thought it did, I didn't want to be mean, but I just-I couldn't muster anything now. No fake smiles, no happiness, nothing would come, and probably not for a long time.

"It's a long story." She repeats, looking me straight in the eye. "We have a destination in mind though, so I'll tell you as we walk." I was surprised, first, that she was opening up to me, and more importantly she was inviting me into their "group" within a couple of minutes. Zack looked suspicious, but Zoey just seemed used to it. "Come on everyone, lets go." They packed up whatever provisions were out and that hadn't been soaked and stood up. I realized I still had my sandwich clutched tightly in my hand and took a couple of bites. Soon we were walking at the edge of the forest, just before the freeway.

Scarlet and me walked a couple of feet ahead while Zoey and Zack hung back. "We all went to the same college." Scarlet said, speaking almost as soon as we left. "We dropped out of school at almost exactly the same time because we had serious cases of ADHD and Dyslexia." I find myself nodding without really meaning to. Common signs, though for some, it's worse then others.

"A couple of weeks passed and soon, a satyr found us. Of course we didn't believe anything he said, even after he sat down and explained everything to us. Everything. I think this was right before the war with Gaea. Anyway, we still didn't believe him and he tried everything to get us to come. Even showed us his furry legs and horns. I actually kind of feel bad for him, we threatened to call the police and he finally backed down. We thought he was just a crazy man." She laughed but there was a bitter sound to it. "For a couple of days everything was fine and we almost forgot about him. A week later we went to hang out. There was four of us then...and since we were all dropouts we talked to each other a lot. One day we were walking along a trail in the woods when a hellhound burst through the trees. Katherine was the closest and the thing picked her up and just shook her, _like a rag doll._"

I glance quickly at her and see that her eyes are rimmed red and tightly shut. Fighting off the pictures that force themselves into ones mind. It was something I knew. "It clenched its teeth into her." She shudders and her eyes close once more. Then, open again. "I was so angry and frightened...I don't know what came over me." "I killed it." She says without any remorse or regret or any emotion at all. "And then after...Ares came. He claimed me in person. Gave me a ring." Her eyes drift down to her hand where she wears a single gold band, decorated with a bloodred ruby. "It has the power to change into any weapon I could think of." She glances down at it again and stares at it with a mixture of awe and disgust. "And then, two other gods flashed in. Apollo and Hectate. Apollo claimed Zack and gave him a sheath of unlimited golden arrows and Hectate claimed Zoey."

"I didn't get anything." Zoey interrupts. Scarlet rolls her eyes, the sorrowful tone disappearing from the edge of her voice. "Zoey had great power, Hectate called her the strongest of her mortal children." "BUT." Zoey says, "I don't even know how to control it. Doesn't really count then." Scarlet just rolls her eyes and gets back to the story. "Ares said we could go to Camp Half~Blood if we wanted, but he told us that all the campers are a lot younger then us."

"That's not completely true." I say, "There are a lot of campers there your age." I wince as the thought of the campers permeate my mind once again, but if Scarlet notices, she doesn't say anything. Instead she grimaces, "I know, we found that out later. At the time we didn't know if we could make it to camp. Ares said it was extremely dangerous. That we would be attacked by monster after monster all along the way." _That's not completely false. _I think to myself.

I don't know how far we are but a mall has come into view. It doesn't seem THAT far off, just a mile or two, maybe. "We decided that it wasn't worth the risk, but then a few months later, something happened. We were in Ohio, and we found an injured _tortoise." "What?" _"Yup. It was injured by some type of animal apparently, and Mr. Healer over fixed it up with his magic powers." she says, indicating behind us, where the pair were walking close by, obviously listening to the story. "Turns out...it as Hermes's sacred animal. He flashed in-scaring us half to death and checked on the animal. Found out we were demigods, and he immediately asked why we weren't at Camp Half~Blood. We told him everything Ares had said, and to our _great _surprise, he started chuckling. 'What are you talking about?' he asked. 'Of course there are children your age! And sure, monsters attack every now and then but from the looks of it.' He pointed at me, 'You're an Ares kid, you-' he turned his finger on Zack-you're Apollo. and-' He seemed to study Zoe."

"'Ah yes.' he said, 'You must be the daughter of Hectate.'" They both glanced behind them, where Zoey and Zack were both looking down. "He said-" she hesitated, "He said that Apollo had foretold that she would use her energy-" Scarlet shuddered for the second time. "as a sacrifice of sorts to raise the 'fallen hero.' We were scared, and he advised us to go to Camp Half~Blood...so we did. And this was about right after the war with Gaea."

"Everything was good at first. The campers said the 'seven' were sailing back to camp and everyone was excited but then, on our third night something strange happened. The oracle of Delphi, at least her human body form thing, appeared and walked right up to Zoey, Her eyes-" She paused for a moment and Zoey, now walking on the side of us finished for her. "Her eyes glowed green and mist of the same color encircled her. She raised a finger at me and spoke a new prophecy."

My head snapped up in alarm, Why didn't anyone tell me?! _Oh yeah, because they hate me._ I shook my head to myself and she continued. "She spoke like two people were talking at once." "What did she say?" I ask. Her purple eyes crystallize and she clears her throat but looks down and doesn't meet anyone's eyes.

_Betrayed by Friends, Called a coward_

_The Fallen Hero, finds new power_

_The daughter of magic will save his life_

_or the end of this world, brought on by strife._

Zoey looks so sad and hopeless that I try to push the prophecy's words out of my mind and comfort her. "Maybe it's another Daughter of Hectate, or magic could mean anything." She shakes her head solemnly, "I got re-claimed, symbol and all, right after that." Scarlet re-takes the story. "Everyone threw her dirty glances and us too, whispered and talked about how they just finished a prophecy and how she started a new one." Her voice shakes with anger and I see that her fists are tightly clenched,

I look backed down at the ground in anger. Why didn't anyone tell me? A major prophecy? And how could they treat Zoey like that after a prophecy? Those..! Several words ran through my head to describe them, none of it flattering. "Well." I start out carefully, "That just means you're going to save someone. That's all." Zoey looks at me a little hopeful and Scarlet shoots me a grateful glance. But then Zoey's face darkens, "I don't have full control of my powers, It sometimes takes over me and I don't even know how I'm supposed to save this person."

Scarlet sends me another glance, this time with a clear message, "Enough with this conversation." I nod slowly, and finally look around at our surroundings. There's shopping mall I saw before is in full view, and the forest on our left side is starting to thin out. The cars streaming by aren't as fast and slow down considerably taking the exit into the mall. We follow on the edge and pretty soon we're standing in the parking lot. We were still about 50 feet from the mall when hundreds of shrieks and screams pierce the air, and a crowd of mortals charge toward us, running away from the mall.

We all look at each other, at last they were used to this. We run toward the crowd like two armies clashing against each other. But in reality we were dodging all that we could, and sometimes pushing through. Luckily It soon thinned out and we reached the door of the mall and burst through. All mortals are gone from the sight _except _for a young girl. He blond hair looks matted and dirty and her clothes, a thin dress, are torn and ragged and her light pale blue eyes are filled with fear. The monster that must have emptied the building is a hydra of all things. It corners the cowering girl, and if it's focusing on her then, that must mean, "She's a demigod!" I yell. "Protect her!" The hydra whips its head towards me, momentarily forgetting its food.

I uncap Riptide and it eyes my sword warily as it springs out, Scarlet studies it for a couple of seconds then twists her ring and an exact copy of my sword forms, gripped in her hand. "Focus." she yells. I turn back to the hydra barreling towards her. It spits fire and I dodge sprinting quickly. Zack is also running on the opposite side of me, shooting arrows while he runs. They all lodge itself in its thick hide but he's barely distracting it while I try to think of a plan. We don't exactly have cannonballs or anything like that, and we won't be able to get close to its body.

As I run I get a full view of the room, Zoey has grabbed the girl and hidden her somewhere safe. Tables and chairs have been thrown and crushed, the floor littered with metal and wooden pieces. I see the water fountains at the other end of the room and realize that will have to be my choice. Then the hydra turns his attention to someone else, Scarlet barely dodges the hydra's blast of fire and I spring into action, Running towards the hydra, I thrust my hand towards all the water fountains, but for a second nothing happens. Then it explodes, and I jump on it riding it like a wave, straight towards the monster. At the last second, the water boosts me upwards, over its barrage of fire and straight over its head, two of them snapping at me. The wave of water turns into positioned jet stream and slams full force into the mouths while I land roughly right next to me. Before it recovers I grip my sword tighter and slash at the sides, Two heads turn towards me, about to blow fire on both sides and burn me to a crisp but I dolphin dive just in time. Yet my already damp shirt is completely burned off at the back and the flames barely reach my bare back, but still effectively burning it. I yell loudly and just have enough time to slightly heal the burns on my back before jumping back up, slightly wincing at the movement.

Scarlet is simultaneously battling 2 heads while the rest are alternating between Zack, Zoey, and me. Zack is full on sprinting around the beast but most of his arrows are bouncing off. Scarlet won't be able to keep it up for long and the other two heads snap towards her and breathe a column of fire directly at her. My water reacts again and a torrent of waters forms challenging the fire. I push it harder and the water begins to take over and soon the hydra gets a full mouth rinse. I run to Scarlet and help her up, we run away from the recovering monster, both breathing hard.

We're going to need to think of something fast or we won't be able to keep this up. "This isn't going to last long." Scarlet says between breaths, "I know." I reply but I don't know what else to offer. All of a sudden from the corner of my eye, I see Zoey holding the little girl by the hand and leading her straight to the hydra. Scarlet sees her too and her eyes widen in surprise and shock. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET HER AWAY FROM IT!" Scarlet yells while breaking into a run. Zoey glances behind her and the look in her eyes doesn't show fear or remorse, instead she holds up a finger and lets the little girl continue walking by herself. Scarlet tries to run past her but Zoey stops her with a sharp hold on her shoulder. "Wait." she says and her voice is commanding. To my surprise Scarlet stops struggling and looks at the little girl in fear.

All of the hydras heads are focused on her now, its eyes are glaring as it starts to stalk forward. Yet she never falters in her steps and continues to walk towards the ravaging beast. I join the two girls who are staring at her, like me, unblinking. Afraid to do anything, but also afraid to not take action. The beast never takes it eyes off her, fixed, just like us, on the girl. Finally, they are less than 5 feet apart and no one has made a move.

But then, everyone reacts. The hydra finally realizes that his meal is right in front of him and three of the heads lunge towards her. Scarlet and I run forward at the exact time Zoey releases her grip on us. I finally see that we all acted much too late, and in our trance of watching the girl we let her go, unarmed, to go face a monster. Demigod or not she couldn't be more than 6.

All of a sudden it slowed down and I noticed that the girl closed her eyes, an appropriate reaction, it seemed, in the face of sudden death. She continues with her eyes closed and holds her hands up as if in surrender. Then...a bright yellow light starts to emit from her body. It starts out dim and keeps on growing until we literally have to squint our eyes and block the emitting light. Then two beams literally burst out of her hands and shoot straight at the monster. It opens its mouth to block the light by shooting a wall of flames but that does nothing to stop it, and the light almost _burns _through it. Still the flames continue where the light didn't touch it and they completely engulf the girl.

The light doesn't stop though, and no one says a word as the flames clear and she's still standing, with her eyes closed, so peaceful she almost looked like she was sleeping. Then the hydra roars. A massive sound it fills the entire room and echoes off the empty walls. It sounded like the cry of a tortured animal and for a split second I felt sorry for the thing, and then, it was vaporized. The light disappears and I take a couple of seconds to get use to the now dark room.

Scarlet speaks first. "What." Her voice is shaky, "Was that?" But no one has the time to answer as another light, as bright as the first fills the room. This one is right and appears from the ceiling like a beam. As soon as it disappears it, it reveals-Hermes...and Annabeth. They both blink twice and everyone in the room doesn't make a sound. It seemed like no one was going to break the impending silence and I could barely form thoughts much less words. All I could do was stare at Annabeth. Her face was red and swollen from crying and she looked...horrible. Her hair was in a mess and her clothes were rumpled and covered in dirt. "Annabeth." I whisper so low I was sure no one could hear me. I see her lips mouth the words, _"__Percy." _

I-I couldn't stand to see her like this, to see her in pain. I knew something was wrong and all I wanted to do was reach out to her. "I-I." I couldn't finish and as much as I wanted to wrap her in a hug and kiss her and not remember anything, right now I couldn't. She reaches out her hand as if to touch me even though we were at a further distance. I-No. Not right now. I couldn't deal with this. please, not. Now.

Hermes keeps on looking from Scarlet to me and then finally his eyes rest on the girl. His face widens in even more shock as he seems to recognize her. "Elizabeth?"

**AHH THERE WE GO! JUST AS PROMISED =) Thanks to anyone who actually reads this and for the wonderful reviews, I love reading them. Umm disclaimer: all rights go to Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson Series, I do not own any of the characters except for the ones that I made up..so yeah.**

**Criticism is welcomed, as well as ideas and also sorry for the really lame prophecy, I really couldn't think of anything at the time and so yeah...If you have any ideas that you think should happen I would REALLY love to hear them. **

**I'll try to update soon! OH AND Please remember I wrote this part before Blood of Olympus came out so it doesn't exactly correspond with the book...so yeah. **

**OH AND ONE LAST THING I PROMISE **

** The person who reviewed, "Matt" I'm sorry you feel that way, but I'm afraid I will not stop this story until I am 100% sure everyone hates it and even after that...well I still probably won't stop it, persistence and stubbornness and all that. Again sorry you feel that way! Byeeeeeeee**


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